1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compact lens optical system and a digital camera module including the same, and more particularly, to a compact lens optical system suitable for a compact digital camera and a mobile communications device, and a digital camera module including the compact lens optical system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the size and thickness of digital cameras have been decreased, most cameras employ a refractive optical system to cope with the trend. Also, many digital cameras employ a zoom optical system to improve convenience. However, as the size and thickness of the digital camera decreases, the inner space of the digital camera decreases as well so that a focal length may be limited by using the zoom optical system only; that is, there is a limit in increasing an optical zoom magnification ratio. Thus, there is a demand to simultaneously employ a single focus wide-angle optical system with the zoom optical system. However, since two sensors are needed for two optical systems, the volume and manufacturing cost of a digital camera increase.
As the use of mobile communications devices becomes popular, a demand not only for a basic communications function but for related additional functions increases. Also, a demand for mobile communications devices having a wireless Internet communications function or digital camera function increases. Recently, mobile communications devices, such as camera phones capable of taking a picture and making a video call by combining the wireless Internet communications function and the digital camera function, have been introduced.
The mobile communications device is equipped with two camera modules, that is, one for videotelephony and the other for general image photography. This is because, in the videotelephony and the general image photography, objects are located at the opposite sides with respect to the screen of a mobile communications device. To implement the two camera modules, two optical systems and two image sensors are needed. Furthermore, to realize high pixel and high performance camera modules according to the user's demands, the manufacturing costs of the mobile communications device increase.